War in Donbas The 9th Mariupol-Khingan was formed from the remnants of the Semenovsky Battalion, a loose formation of locals and Russian volunteers who took part in the
fighting in Sloviansk and at
Donetsk Airport. A reformed and strengthened Semenovsky Battalion then took part in the
offensive towards Mariupol, and helped to
capture the coastal town of
Novoazovsk on 28 August 2014. Later it took part in the
fighting for the coastal town of
Shyrokyne by the
Azov Sea. In February 2016, the former battalion was reformed into the
9th Separate Naval Infantry Regiment by a special decree of the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic,
Alexander Zakharchenko. The name of the unit was based on the Soviet
221st Rifle Division which took part in the liberation of Mariupol during
World War II. By 2017, the regiment had over 1,200 soldiers and was equipped with
T-72 tanks,
BMP-2s, and
BTR-80s.
Russian invasion of Ukraine In 2022 the regiment took part in the
siege of Mariupol. In January 2023, the regiment was incorporated into the
Russian Armed Forces as part of the
1st Donetsk Army Corps and was reformed into the
9th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Following the
battle of Avdiivka, the brigade was thanked by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in a congratulatory telegram. The brigade then took part in the
2024 Kharkiv offensive. It was then transferred to the Donetsk Oblast in order to take part in the
Pokrovsk offensive. The 9th Brigade along with the
132nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and the
80th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion took an active part in the
battle of Toretsk. In October 2025, the 9th Brigade was reported to have resorted to training ″horse-mounted assault teams″ following the stagnation of Russia's summer offensive. ==References==